A Shattered Anniversary

placed by a cold, hard anger that solidified in her chest. She looked at the

She walked over to the fireplace mantel and picked up a framed photo of Ava and Mark on their wedding day, her manicured nail tracing over Ava' s smiling fac

al," Ava shot bac

anger. He saw Chloe standing there, the atmosphere thick with tension, and his eyes imm

as she rushed to his side. "Ava is having some kind of breakdown. She recorded our private conversation, and she'

re acting like a psychopath!" He didn't even ask if what Chloe said was true. He just believed her, insta

riend have been carrying on an affair behind my back! My problem is that you' re both standin

ommanded, his tone icy. "Yo

yet she was the one being shamed, the one being told to be quiet. She felt an overwhelming wave of e

aminated. She pulled a suitcase from the top of the closet and threw it on the bed, her hands moving with a numb, mechanical purpos

He leaned against the frame, watching her pack. His anger seemed

you doing?"

d, not looking at him. "

look. Things have gotten out of hand. I admit that. But lea

hint of the man she thought she married. She found nothing. Just emptiness. "Work through this? You want

oming out too easily, too quickly. "If that' s w

hing me for years while you screwed her on the side? No, thank you. I' m done

e couldn' t quite read. "Don' t go, Ava. We have history. We have this house. Don' t throw it all away over a mistake." The plea felt hollow, a strategic mo

" she said, her voice flat. She tried

leave like this," he s

er. She hadn't spoken to him in months. Their relationship had been strained for years, ever since her

p blog. Her heart stopped. The headline read: "Renowned Architect Ava Green' s Public Meltdown? Source

ho were "worried for her mental state." Ava knew, with a sickening certainty, who those sources were. Chloe hadn' t wasted a moment.

er arm, a flicker of something-guilt? pity?-crossing his feature

g sound at the back door. Then, the distinct click of a lock being picked. A cold dread, sharp and terrifying, washed ove